Thread by @jsrailton

🚨UPDATE your @Apple products now!

We @citizenlab w/TAG's @maddiestone caught #predator spyware attacks against a prominent pro-democracy Egyptian politician after he announced presidential ambitions.

Apple rushed a patch.

It gets crazier 1/

citizenlab.ca/2023/09/predat…

2/ Ahmed Eltantawy got in touch with us @citizenlab, worried his devices were targeted in #Egypt.

He was right. His iPhone on @VodafoneEgypt was targeted for network injection.

As he browsed the net, the attackers were trying to slip a #Predator infection onto his device.

3/ It gets worse.

We attribute the spyware injection system to a @Sandvine Packet Logic product w/high confidence.

Sandvine has been accused in past of facilitating human rights abuses in the past.

Owned by NSO Group's former owner Francisco Partners.

https://twitter.com/accessnow/status/1301950701178941446

4/ This kind of exploit delivery through injection DOES NOT require a target to click as our collaborator, the brilliant @maddiestone, points out in her post.

It's a seriously dangerous kind of attack & hard to protect against.
blog.google/threat-analysi…

@maddiestone 5/ Apple moved quickly to fix the zero-day exploits @maddiestone & @billmarczak discovered.

We encourage everyone to immeidately update their apple products.

There is a piece of good security news buried in all this...

@maddiestone @billmarczak 6/ We believe & Apple's Security Engineering & Architecture Team confirms, Lockdown Mode would have blocked this attack!

We *strongly* encourage all Apple users that may be at risk because of who they are or what they do to enable Lockdown Mode!

support.apple.com/en-us/HT212650

@maddiestone @billmarczak 7/ Ahmed ElTantawy wasn't just targeted with network injection!

He was also targeted with #Predator spyware links in decoy messages sent as texts & over @WhatsApp.

One of the attacks masqueraded as communications from the International Federation for Human Rights @fidh_en

@maddiestone @billmarczak @WhatsApp @fidh_en 8/ This summer the 🇺🇸US hit developer & distributor of #Predator spyware (Cytrox & Intellexa) with blacklisting.

This latest abuse revelation affirms the determination that the spyware continues to fuel human rights abuses.

By @ddimolfetta & @Post_AG
washingtonpost.com/national-secur…

9/ Pulling back the lens from the tech side of this #Predator attack:

Mercenary spyware is autocrat fuel.

When you hack a pro-democracy presidential hopeful in an autocracy... you are doing dictatorship.

And spyware companies know exactly who they are selling to.

10/ Without brave victims like Ahmed Tantawy getting checked & coming forwards, these recent exploits would not have been found.

Billions of apple devices would still be vulnerable.

Including yours.